Thump.


    As that familiar voice echoed through her ears, Li Jiayi’s slim body instantly froze.


    She hadn’t turned to look, but two lines of tears had already started flowing involuntarily from her eyes.


    It was him.


    Even without looking, she was certain: he’d returned.


    The people of Dragon City were astonished as well. After a long pause, one of them finally eximed, “Emperor Ye!”


    The entire area outside Dragon City was in an uproar. They watched Ye Zichen die beneath his lightning tribtion with their own eyes, but now he’de back.


    The innermost part of Dragon City.


    Su Liu’er was flying through the air, on her way to lend them her aid. She came to a sudden stop. She’d been seriously injured during her lightning tribtion, so she’d spend this whole time recovering.


    When her condition took a turn for the better, she headed towards Dragon City, taking Su Zhu and Su Yan with her.


    She didn’t want to bring Su Yan at first. After all her sister had just been through, Su Liu’er wanted her to rest a while longer. But she’d been unusually obstinate, so Su Liu’er had no choice but to let here along.


    “Do you hear that?” Su Zhu looked at her sisters and said, “just who could cause such a massivemotion over there? Did some reclusive expert appear?”


    “A reclusive expert? My silly little sister, you’re really overthinking this,” Su Liu’er couldn’t help but smile bitterly. “Only he could cause such a fuss.”


    “Who?”


    “Ye Zichen.”


    The crowd outside Dragon City cried out in surprise. The racket attracted the demons’ attention as well. The Demon Sovereign currently excoriating Li Min’e set her down, then nced towards Dragon City.


    When they saw Ye Zichen, all of them were visibly shaken.


    “What exactly is going on? Didn’t he die during his lightning tribtion?”


    The other Demon Sovereigns were so surprised they couldn’t even speak. Momentster, they suppressed their shock and snorted, “even if he’s back, so what? At best we’ll just kill him again!”


    Only Gu Li’s eyes shed with a sinister light. He tightly clenched his fists. “Ye Zichen, you‘re awfully tough to kill.”


    “How could you be so stupid?” muttered Ye Zichen. “Don’t you know the consequences of unleashing that technique?”


    Li Jiayi heard his voice echo through her ears once more, then felt a gentle force push her all the way to Dragon City’s gates.


    It was then that she finally saw Ye Zichen, who’d been behind her.


    His clothes were ragged and his entire body was covered in congealed blood.


    。


    There was a worn, weathered look in his pitch-ck eyes that didn’t match his age.


    When you looked at him, you felt no will to live whatsoever. Although he was still standing right there.....


    But he gave off the impression that he was already dead.


    Rainwater fell onto his body and cleansed him. Congealed blood flowed from his body and onto the ground. He stood detachedly in Li Jiayi’d former spot, looking at ck Dragon expressionlessly.


    Ye Zichen’s reappearance left ck Dragon totally bbergasted.


    However, after recovering from his brief astonishment, ck Dragonughed confidently, “Emperor Ye! And here I thought you died during your lightning tribtion. It seems I underestimated you.”


    “I did die, but then I crawled my way back out of hell.”


    Ye Zichen’s tone was so cold, just hearing it would set someone trembling. Especially inbination with his ice-cold gaze, it was enough to make someone feel a piercing chill deep in their bones.


    “Oh really? Well, Emperor Ye, what did you crawl out of hell for?”


    “To make a few people who ought to go to hell report there for punishment.”


    “Does ’people who ought to go to hell’ refer to me?”


    “That’s right.” Ye Zichen nodded lightly. ck Dragon watched him from over a hundred meters away. When he heard this, his gaze grew cold.


    “Then I might have to disappoint you, Emperor Ye. I’m afraid that I’m the one who’ll send you straight back to hell.”


    “Maybe.” Ye Zichen’s t tone was enough to drive someone insane. The next moment, the onlookers saw him float up into the sky. His right hand pointed forward.


    “Come.”


    ck Dragon’s eyes narrowed into slits. He didn’t know why, but when he faced Ye Zichen, he felt iparable pressure.


    Even though Ye Zichen obviously hadn’t released his spiritual pressure! Even though he himself was a sky supreme!


    “Hmph, why should I listen to you?” said ck Dragon. Then he started to make a move against the human and beast n soldiers.


    However, the instant he raised his hand to strike, a beam of swordlikended in front of his feet.


    “Come.”


    It was still just that one word, but it left no room for doubt.


    Several seconds went by.


    The whole time, ck Dragon maintained the same pose he’d been in before the sword lightnded. His gaze was fixed on the seemingly endless gully before him.


    Shockingly, he hadn’t sensed anything at all.


    If that sword light hadnded on his body, he might already be....


    “Impossible!”


    The moment that thought surfaced in his head, ck Dragon rejected it. Even if Ye Zichen had really passed his divine tribtion, he would have just reached the supreme level.


    He, ck Dragon, was a sky supreme!


    A sky supreme!


    He repeated those words to himself over and over. Although he waspletely unwilling to ept it, he nced at the chasm once more, clenched his fists, and walked towards the spot Ye Zichen had designated.


    “I never would have guessed Emperor Ye would.....”


    But before ck Dragon could even finish exchanging pleasantries, yet another beam of sword light swept towards him.


    So fast!


    ck Dragon’s pupils constricted. His energy had been locked onto Ye Zichen this whole time, yet he hadn’t even seen the start of Ye Zichen ‘s attack.


    As for just where the sword energy came from, he had no idea.


    He already had no time to ponder this, though. The sword energy cut through the air as it shot towards him.


    His muscles and bones trembled as a shield formed of bone blocked the iing sword energy. However, the next second, he found himselfpletely encircled by overwhelming sword light.


    “This....”


    Countless beams of sword light sealed off all possible escape routes.


    Boom!


    The light crashed into ck Dragon’s body with an ear-splitting boom.


    “Is it over?” asked the people around Dragon City.


    At that very moment, Su Liu’er and her sisters arrived just in time to see Ye Zichen standing proud and aloof in the sky.


    When she saw Ye Zichen, Su Liu’er couldn’t help but frown. When she saw the countless beams of sword light, though, she was visibly moved despite herself.


    As the light exploded against ck Dragon, the demons’ hearts werepletely on edge.


    “Your Excellency!”


    The smoke dispersed.


    When the dazzling light dissipated, the crowd saw a round ball formedpletely of white bone hovering in the air. Before long, the bones separate and ck Dragon stepped out from within the sphere,pletely unharmed.


    “How could this be?!” the people outside Dragon City were visibly dejected. When they first saw Ye Zichen’s sword energy seal of ck Dragon’s every escape route, they really thought he’d be able to finish him off.


    But.....


    “How could he be so strong?”


    Su Liu’er couldn’t help but frown. Ye Zichen had knocked her senseless before the battle even started. She’d forced her tribtion as soon as she woke up, so she had no way of knowing ck Dragon’s true strength.


    When she saw Ye Zichen’s sword light, even she’d assumed he was sure to win.


    Yet this was the result.


    “Emperor Ye, you crawled your way out of hell, yet this is all you’ve got.”


    ck Dragon brushed the rainwater from his body andughed, his gaze mocking. However, Ye Zichen merely nced at him, then took out a sword. He seems to have grabbed it straight out of a spatial rift.


    “It seems I’ve got to use you after all!”